05 STS water in headlight

Wiring, DIY, lighting, etc.
Adam
Posts: 2240
Joined: Wed Oct 23, 2013 9:50 pm

Re: 05 STS water in headlight

Post by Adam »

kevm14 wrote: When I pulled up to snag the last pic, these two salesman started coming out of the dealer. Perhaps I looked suspicious in my 96 Roadmaster with zero window tint after purchasing a $9 bulb </sarcasm>.
Suspicious like a grey-haired Buick driver that looks like he may want to move up to a Cadillac?

/sarcasm?
kevm14
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Joined: Wed Oct 23, 2013 10:28 pm

Re: 05 STS water in headlight

Post by kevm14 »

I'm not sure they were both coming out to fight over me as a customer...I wish I stopped to find out what they wanted. If they were polite I would have been polite. But if not...
kevm14
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Joined: Wed Oct 23, 2013 10:28 pm

Re: 05 STS water in headlight

Post by kevm14 »

I was thinking more about where the potential leak could be. When I installed the rear cover, I applied a thin layer of dielectric grease on the entire gasket surface to help it seal. Maybe Vaseline would have been good (or better). What I failed to do is apply that for the ballast/side cover, and that's probably because I was already doing RTV on the part where the gasket was mangled. But since the leak improved so much (yet did not fully seal) I wonder if that is the remaining issue. If I could have actually bought a new gasket, it is possible that none of this would have been an issue. So if I have to do this again, I MIGHT give it one more try but do the Vaseline trick on all gasket surfaces. My guess is with the desiccant packets in there, it will go longer before condensation but it will eventually come back.
bill25
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Joined: Thu Oct 31, 2013 2:20 pm

Re: 05 STS water in headlight

Post by bill25 »

Vaseline is not good for rubber. I would definitely not use Vaseline on rubber gaskets.
kevm14
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Joined: Wed Oct 23, 2013 10:28 pm

Re: 05 STS water in headlight

Post by kevm14 »

Hmm. Well I doubt the gaskets are rubber. Still I guess the dielectric grease would be safer.
kevm14
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Joined: Wed Oct 23, 2013 10:28 pm

Re: 05 STS water in headlight

Post by kevm14 »

Well after that extremely heavy rain over the past few days, there seems to be pretty heavy condensation inside again. Maybe it's the front lens to housing seal, which I have not touched. I'm kind of tired of screwing around with it, though I have not tried everything. There are extreme measures I could take like drilling a small hole in the bottom. I am sure it could be fixed if I was patient enough - unless the housing itself is cracked invisibly (which is certainly possible). If the alternative is a used headlight, maybe I could try one last effort. The other one is fine and both on the SRX have been fine. CTS-V, too, and it actually has been driven in plenty of rain.
kevm14
Posts: 15200
Joined: Wed Oct 23, 2013 10:28 pm

Re: 05 STS water in headlight

Post by kevm14 »

Made it to April, all the way from last June!! More condensation but no water level like before.

However, the headlight has quit. Based on prior experience, the ballast is probably triggering a safety shutdown and may work fine when dried out, assuming it isn't actually ruined.

I am pretty frustrated with this and the only thing left is to try to reseal the whole outer lens to the housing. I kind of don't feel like doing that, though I am sure I can find some decent writeups on it. I found an eBay headlight for $250 and I am considering buying it.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/2005-2011-Cadi ... 2822!US!-1
ebay STS left HID.jpg
It does not come with bulbs/ballast though so if mine does not dry out I will have to buy more stuff. I also have no idea if it is leak-free and sealed though it looks nice. I e-mailed the seller asking if he could assure me in some way that it is sealed and has not been leaking. No idea what to expect but we'll see what he says and I may just pull the trigger if his response is halfway reasonable (as opposed to, I dunno, something like "don't know, don't care").

But then I noticed RockAuto has this for 2010-2011 HID: https://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo.ph ... 86&jsn=886

I think the lights are compatible all the way through but this wouldn't be the first time I've seen some application weirdness with them. Anyway this is a "reconditioned" unit for $205. Is that better than used for $250? I really have no idea. In the picture the projectors look really messed up so not sure what that is about...I have my inspection in May and the headlight needs to work. I will be happy to get done with this water issue anyway. Then I can focus on the goddamn catalyst code...
kevm14
Posts: 15200
Joined: Wed Oct 23, 2013 10:28 pm

Re: 05 STS water in headlight

Post by kevm14 »

kevm14 wrote:I also have no idea if it is leak-free and sealed though it looks nice. I e-mailed the seller asking if he could assure me in some way that it is sealed and has not been leaking. No idea what to expect but we'll see what he says and I may just pull the trigger if his response is halfway reasonable (as opposed to, I dunno, something like "don't know, don't care").
Well this response is hilarious. Not fully accurate (I see some with moisture from time to time but mostly not), but I get it.
We cannot guarantee that the light won't have moisture, as Cadillac headlights normally have moisture issues.
Wondering if I should attempt the RockAuto "reconditioned" unit. I have no idea what that means. I guess I could always just order and return if it is a big pile of shit right? Of course, I guess my worst nightmare would be that I get it, it looks good, I run it, and then it still develops moisture issues (even though my right one has been fine the whole time, both of Jamie's are fine, my CTS-V is fine, etc. etc.).

Of course the other issue is, they only list it for 2010-2011. I believe the form/fit of the assembly itself is the same. But it could use a different harness plug, for example. Need to look into that...all I'm saying is there could be a good reason RockAuto lists 2010-2011 only.
kevm14
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Joined: Wed Oct 23, 2013 10:28 pm

Re: 05 STS water in headlight

Post by kevm14 »

I may have convinced myself to do one last attempt. Rather than try to remove the lens I may just dry the inside out and attempt to carefully reseal (or I guess add sealant) with black silicone if I can find that, plus replace the desiccant. Provided the ballast dries out and the bulb works again, this will be enough to get me by for, well, another 12 months if it is no better when I am done. Just not ready to spend a couple hundred bucks.
kevm14
Posts: 15200
Joined: Wed Oct 23, 2013 10:28 pm

Re: 05 STS water in headlight

Post by kevm14 »

Of course they make black silicone!

https://www.homedepot.com/p/GE-GE-Silic ... /100126591
100% weatherproof; freeze-proof and sun-proof
30-minute rain-ready
10-year mold-free product protection
Good enough?

I think I will try to do this as soon as I can. Maybe as soon as this weekend. Or I guess I need my replacement bulb first because I'll be in/around the area...

EDIT: What am I saying...it's the passenger side fog light. Working on the driver's side headlight doesn't really help. I was confused with the SRX DRL/turn signal which is on the driver's side....why did all the bulb things happen at once???? Oh yeah and the fog light in the Ram!! High beam indicator still burned out on the Roadmaster...
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